What is Manual Lymphatic Drainage?

MLD or manual lymphatic drainage uses gentle rhythmic pumping techniques in specific orders and directions to help lymph flow. These pumping techniques encourage the lymph’s natural pulsations to direct the fluid back through lymph nodes and then deeper into the body and eventually to be returned to the blood system, where it can be filtered and excreted out as urine if necessary. It helps to prevent the build-up of lymphatic fluid, often called water retention. Lymphoedema is protein-rich odema. MLD will promote the optimal functioning of the lymphatic systems which in turn facilitates the bodi’s natural cleansing process. Cells become surrounded by a more healthy environment, and the immune system can also be stimulated.

An overview of lymph and the lymphatic system.

Your circulatory systems are the blood and lymph systems, they distribute blood and fluid throughout the body. The heart pumps oxygen-rich blood through your arteries to arterioles which are smaller vessels that eventually become capillaries that are just one cell thick. It is here that fluid, waste and nutrients are exchanged across capillary walls into the interstitial fluid that bathes cells. Your lymph system returns this fluid which contains larger molecules such as proteins.

Your lymphatic system is an open circulatory system in your body that carries lymph and runs roughly parallel to your blood circulation, but there is no heart to pump between-10 litres of lymph fluid. It relies on pressure from movement, mainly from surrounding muscles for circulation to occur. Our initial lymph vessels are found just below the surface of our skin. When the surrounding tissue contains enough fluid, this pressure causes fluid to move into the lymph vessels and the fluid is now known as lymph. Lymph is a colourless liquid and contains dead cells, waste products, inorganic substances, protein, fats, bacteria and viruses and water.

The lymph system is the drainage and garbage collector system of our body, removing excess fluid and substances from our body. So it also helps maintain fluid balance initial lymph vessels get bigger and flow through lymph nodes. We have up to 700 lymph nodes of varying sizes and you may be familiar with some of them, in your neck, you may have up to 200, or your axillary nodes in your armpits. The nodes filter and purify the lymph. They also produce some white blood cells and play an important part of your immune system. Eventually purified and filtered lymph is returned to the blood circulation as the lymphatic system empties its contents into back into the blood system near the heart,

What causes water or fluid retention, oedema, or lymphoedema to occur?

The lymph system relies on normal muscle function to keep the flow going and to prevent a build-up. Often the cause may be unknown, but it can be caused by many different conditions such as lack of physical activity, stress, chemical overload (hormones and toxins) injury, age, diet or venous insufficiency). These factors cause the fluid flow to slow down, so fluid then may collect in the tissues which mean the surrounding cells and tissues become less healthy.

If the lymphatic system did not act to evacuate the excess protein from around the cells, the body would suffer massive oedema,

function complications and die within 24 to 48 hours" (Guyton, A.C, 1971)